GEOL1202 Planet
The rock was picked up on crystal beach, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
The rock was on the white sand beach. Because of the abundance of this rock, it is possible the beach sand is a combination of this type of rock, pummeled into sand over thousands of years.
Observations:
The rock is rounded, like a squished tennis ball. It is about the size of the palm of a medium male hand. The rock is white whith small black flecks of another rock type in it. This rock was laying on the beach with hundreds of similar rocks. It seemed to have been rounded by the waves, just like the other rocks.
Mineralogy
The white stone appears to be crystalline and shines in the sunlight. The first thought is that it is composed of tiny milky quartz crystals or granite of some type. The terms for this rock is quartzite. The black flecks could be some sort of volcanic rock, such as obsidian, however, this would need further testing in a lab to confirm the actual stone the flecks are composed of.
Without a ruler or magnifying glass, the actual shape, and size of both the crystals and the black flecks were not recordable in the field. However, it is almost certain that the quartzite and the smaller flakes are possibly feldspar crystals.
Structures
The rock has several vesicles. Some are hollow, with sniny crystals inside, some have a black mineral inside. The black mineral could be feldspar, obsidian, or perhaps jet. The black specks are shiny and seem to be crystalline in structure. There are no fossils or cracks in the rock.
Rock Group
This rock sample appears to be quartzite, which is a metamorphic rock. These types of rocks are created b quartz sandstone what has been super-heated and pressurized. This kind of geological event typically causes the granules to fuse, which makes it hard, dense, and equiangular.
Rock Name
This is a metamorphic rock, based on its color, structure, and form. Therefore, the logical conclusion is that this is a quartzite rock from the beach. The white crystalline structure is a large clue that it is most likely quartz based. The small black speks are difficult to completely identify without taking this sample to the lab to study it closer. However, the combination in this rock suggests that it is most likely a metamorphic quartzite sample.
